This invention relates generally to the field of dispensing devices and systems. More particularly, this invention relates to the field of devices and systems for dispensing paper products such as napkins, towels, toilet tissue, etc.
Various types of dispensers for paper products have been developed to provide ready availability of the paper products to users. Such dispensers are often provided in public places such as restaurants or rest rooms where customers remove from the dispenser a desired amount of paper products for personal use. In some high traffic areas, such as fast food restaurants, a large number of customers may use a paper product dispenser such as a napkin dispenser in a short period of time. Therefore, dispensers have been developed that hold a large number of paper products for use by a large number of consumers.
Unfortunately, large dispensers are subject to a number of drawbacks. First, it is difficult to uniformly dispense individual paper products from a large dispenser without dispensing more paper products than necessary to a user. Thus, too many paper products are removed by a user, and some of the paper products are wasted. If too many paper products are removed from a dispenser, the benefits provided by a larger dispenser are eliminated as the dispenser is emptied more rapidly.
Second, many dispensers are difficult to load, and that difficulty can increase with the size of the dispenser. If paper products are not properly loaded into the dispenser, the paper products may jam as they are removed thereby preventing further removal of paper products by users. Also, a person refilling a large dispenser is more likely, due to the larger number of paper products involved, to drop some of the paper products onto a floor. Any dropped paper products are then unsanitary and must be discarded, thereby creating more waste and again defeating the benefits of the larger dispenser.
A further drawback of many currently available dispensers regardless of size is that it is impossible to determine without opening the dispenser how many paper products remain within the dispenser. Thus, a person must either periodically check the dispenser to determine how many paper products remain or be vigilant to refill the dispenser as soon as it is empty. Both alternatives involve much personal attention and, especially during peak usage, can lead to empty dispensers if dispensers are not vigilantly monitored.
It is a principle object of the present invention to provide an improved container and cartridge for dispensing paper products that can be readily adapted to various applications.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a container and cartridge for dispensing paper products that are simple and inexpensive to manufacture, and that are reliable in use.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a container and cartridge for dispensing paper products that provide metered delivery of individual paper products.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a container and cartridge for dispensing paper products that reduce the incidence of waste of the paper products, either due to dispensing too many paper products to a user or due to dropping of the paper products during refilling of the container.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a container and cartridge for dispensing paper products that provide an indication of the remaining amount of the paper products ready for dispensing to users.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a container and cartridge for dispensing paper products that reduce the incidence of jamming of paper products and the resultant inability to dispense further paper products.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a container and cartridge for dispensing paper products that supports the weight of paper products so that individual paper products are readily removed.
To achieve these objects and in accordance with the purposes of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a container for dispensing individual paper products is provided, the container including a housing including a plurality of exterior walls defining an interior surface and an interior area within the interior surface for receiving a plurality of the paper products. A first of the exterior walls defines a dispensing throat for permitting removal of paper products from the interior area. A mechanism urges paper products within the interior area toward the dispensing throat in a dispensing direction. A second and third of the exterior walls intersect the first exterior wall on opposite sides of the first exterior wall and form a portion of the interior surface. Protrusions extend from the portion of the interior surface on the second and third exterior walls into the interior area for contacting the paper products to oppose the means for urging. The protrusions on the second wall are staggered from the protrusions on the third wall in the dispensing direction.
The urging mechanism may include a spring-loaded plate disposed in the interior area of the housing for urging the paper products in the dispensing direction, and the dispensing direction may be substantially horizontal. Alternately, the mechanism for urging may include an attachment portion of the housing for attaching the housing to a substantially nonhorizontal surface, the paper products being urged in the dispensing direction by gravity, and the dispensing direction may be substantially vertical.
Preferably, the protrusions include curved bumpers, and, more preferably, the curved bumpers include a plurality of ridges extending across the curved bumpers perpendicular to the dispensing direction.
Preferably, the housing further includes a staging area proximate the dispensing throat for spacing and slowing the paper products, the staging area including at least one rib member extending parallel to the dispensing direction and a number of teeth extending from the rib member for contacting the paper products and opposing the mechanism for urging.
A given one of the exterior walls is preferably a door hingedly attached to the housing, the door being openable for insertion of the plurality of paper products into the interior area.
Optionally, a cartridge may be provided for insertion into the interior area of housing for containing the plurality of paper products, and the cartridge preferably includes removable portions, removal of the removable portions creating openings in the cartridge. At least one of the openings in the cartridge is preferably disposed adjacent at least one of the protrusions so that the protrusion extends through the opening to contact the plurality of paper products. At least one rib member is preferably provided in the interior area of the housing proximate the dispensing throat, the rib member including teeth extending from the rib member, at least one of the openings in the cartridge being disposed adjacent at least one of the rib members so that the teeth extend through the opening to contact the plurality of paper products.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a container for dispensing individual paper products is provided, the container including a housing including a plurality of exterior walls defining an interior surface and an interior area within the interior surface for receiving a plurality of the paper products. A first of the exterior walls defines a dispensing throat for permitting removal of paper products from the interior area. A mechanism urges paper products within the interior area toward the dispensing throat in a dispensing direction. At least one protrusion extends from the interior surface into the interior area of the housing. A cartridge is provided for insertion into the interior area of the housing for containing the plurality of paper products, the cartridge including at least one removable portion, removal of the removable portion creating an opening in the cartridge. The opening in the cartridge is disposed adjacent the protrusion so that the protrusion extends through the opening to contact the plurality of paper products to oppose the means for urging when the cartridge is placed in the interior area of the housing.
Preferably, the cartridge includes a second removable portion, removal of the second removable portion creating a second opening in the cartridge, and wherein the mechanism for urging includes a spring-loaded plate disposed in the interior area of the housing and extending through the second opening for urging the paper products in the dispensing direction, the dispensing direction being preferably substantially horizontal. Alternately, the mechanism for urging includes an attachment portion of the housing for attaching the housing to a substantially nonhorizontal surface, the paper products being urged in the dispensing direction by gravity, the dispensing direction preferably being substantially vertical.
Preferably, a second and third of the exterior walls intersect the first exterior wall on opposite sides of the first exterior wall, the at least one protrusion including a plurality of protrusions extending from the second and third exterior walls into the interior area, the protrusions including curved bumpers, the curved bumpers preferably including a plurality of ridges extending across the curved bumpers perpendicular to the dispensing direction.
Preferably, a staging area is provided proximate the dispensing throat for spacing and slowing the paper products, the staging area preferably including at least one protrusion, the protrusion including a rib member extending parallel to the dispensing direction and a number of teeth extending from the rib member for contacting the paper products and opposing the means for urging.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a container for dispensing individual paper products is provided, the container including a housing including a plurality of exterior walls defining an interior area for receiving a plurality of the paper products. A first of the exterior walls defines a dispensing throat for permitting removal of paper products from the interior area. A mechanism urges paper products within the interior area toward the dispensing throat in a dispensing direction. A second and third of the exterior walls intersect the first exterior wall on opposite sides of the first exterior wall. A first group of protrusions extends from the second and third exterior walls into the interior area. A fourth of the exterior walls is a door hingedly attached to the housing, the door being openable for insertion of the plurality of paper products into the interior area. A fifth of the exterior walls is disposed opposite the fourth exterior wall. A second group of protrusions extends from the first wall and the fifth wall into the interior area. The first and second groups of protrusions contact the paper products to oppose the mechanism for urging.
Preferably, the first group of protrusions includes curved bumpers, which preferably include a plurality of ridges extending across the curved bumpers perpendicular to the dispensing direction. Preferably, the second group of protrusions includes ribs disposed in a staging area proximate the dispensing throat for spacing and slowing the paper products.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a cartridge for holding and dispensing a plurality of paper products is provided, the cartridge being insertable into an interior area of a container having a housing, the interior area being disposed within an interior surface defined by a plurality of exterior walls, at least one protrusion extending from the interior surface into the interior area, the cartridge including a cartridge body including cartridge walls, and at least one removable portion defined in the cartridge body, removal of the removable portion creating an opening through at least one of the cartridge walls, the removable portion being located on the cartridge body so that when the cartridge is placed in the interior area of the housing the protrusion extends through the opening to contact the plurality of paper products.
Preferably, the cartridge walls include two opposing walls and at least two removable portions are provided, each removable portion being disposed on one of the cartridge opposing walls. More preferably, the cartridge walls include four cartridge side walls and at least four removable portions are provided, each removable portion being disposed on one of the cartridge side walls.
The cartridge preferably defines at least one slot through one of the cartridge walls, the slot being visible from outside the housing when the cartridge is in the interior area of the housing, an amount of paper products disposed within the cartridge being determinable by visually inspecting the amount of paper products through the slot.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through the practice of the invention.